


All Gummed Up/All Warmed Up

by Wandering_River



Series: Adventure Time/DRv3 [1]
Category: Adventure Time, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Adventure Time Fusion, Angry Saihara Shuichi, Anxious Saihara Shuichi, But also, Confused K1-B0 (Dangan Ronpa), Crack Treated Seriously, Fantasy, Fire Elemental Saihara Shuichi, Fire Kingdom (Adventure Time), Fluff and Crack, Goblin Kingdom (Adventure Time), Hot to the Touch - Freeform, Incendium - Freeform, Kinda, M/M, Momota Kaito & Oma Kokichi Are Siblings, Moving On, Oma Kokichi Is Bad at Feelings, Oma Kokichi Needs a Hug, One Shot, One-Sided Attraction, One-Sided Oma Kokichi/Amami Rantaro, Pre-Slash, Prince Amami Rantaro, Prince Saihara Shuichi, Self-Indulgent, Shapeshifter Momota Kaito, Song: All Gummed Up/All Warmed Up (Adventure Time), Songfic, Unrequited Crush, Wolf Momota Kaito, no beta we die like saihara's will to live, yes saihara IS flame princess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:07:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27775057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wandering_River/pseuds/Wandering_River
Summary: After Kokichi falls into a depressed state due to his unrequited feelings towards Prince Amami; Kaito goes off in search of someone for his brother to fall in love with.(Aka: The combined events of the episodes "Incendium" and "Hot to the Touch" from Adventure Time)
Relationships: Amami Rantaro & Momota Kaito, Amami Rantaro & Oma Kokichi, K1-B0 & Momota Kaito, K1-B0 & Oma Kokichi, Momota Kaito & Oma Kokichi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Series: Adventure Time/DRv3 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2049159
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	All Gummed Up/All Warmed Up

**Author's Note:**

> so i guess a small disclaimer and warning would be that most of the dialogue is taken from the two episodes. granted i did edit some lines and exculde some others but yeah...
> 
> also, i refer to most of the charaters by their first name except for the princes. i did this cause i cant remeber a single time anyone in adventure time ever said "princess bonnibel" rather than "princess bubblegum". the princesses are mostly referred to by last name, so i did so here as well.
> 
> ((the art at the beginning is something i made based on the promo art for the episode "Incendium".))

"And so, through my experiments with cloud-seeding, I've invented liquid pyrotechnics!"

Prince Amami touches the match he had lit to the string on the rocket. The fire quickly eats away at the thread before igniting the mechanisms inside. The three sitting on the roof of the treehouse watch as the little rocket shoots into the air and bursts into a colorful display. Amami reaches for the umbrella he brought with him and opens it just in time for the array of multicolored liquid to pour down from the sky.

"That's really cool, PA!"

"Oh heh, thanks, Kaito." 

Amami reaches over to give Kaito an affectionate scratch behind one of the shifter's ears. Five eyes scrunch in happiness and Kaito smiles to the best of his ability in his wolf form. Two of his eyes flicker over to his brother.

"Isn't it cool, Kokichi?"

Kaito watches as his brother's previously blank face switches back to his usual playful grin. The Prince looks over to Kokichi with an easy going smile; waiting for the human to respond.

"Nishishi~ yup, super cool, as always!" Kokichi's childish demeanor is back in its place like nothing ever happened. It makes Kaito softly frown. He hates that his brother feels the need to mask his emotions all the time. He understands why Kokichi does, but it doesn't mean he likes it any better.

Prince Amami feels a little bit of tension drain from him at the complement. It's nice to be validated by what he considers to be his only real friends. Amami subconsciously pets Kaito's soft fur as he watches the fake rain clear up. At the sudden weight in his lap though, he looks down to find a head of purple locks.

"Uuuh, what are you doing there, Kokichi?" Amami smiles awkwardly down at the boy in his lap as Kokichi rolls over to look up at him.

"I put my head in your lap, duh. Geez Amami, I thought you were smart enough to notice something so obvious." The boy clicks his tongue in a chiding manner as he wiggles a pointer finger at the Prince.

"No, I know that- nevermind. It's just… weird." Amami looks up at the sky and his forced smile fades as he sees the forming rain clouds. He doesn't see the blank look that returns to Kokichi's face. "Look, I'll see you guys later. I have to get back to the Kingdom." 

"Huh? Oh." Kokichi sits up and watches as Amami leaves the treehouse roof. 

The clouds congregate above and a short burst of thunder follows not long after. The two adventurers retreat back inside their home as the first sheets of rain start to come down. Kaito watches his brother retreat into a corner of the living room before curling up in a ball on his side. He shifts into a more humanoid appearance and walks over to his brother's form.

"Hey, dude, you doing okay?"

There's a grumbled 'just peachy' before his brother falls silent. This decidedly means the boy is _not_ 'just peachy'. Kaito worriedly glances over at the couch where K1-B0 is sitting, but the robot offers a just as concerned and confused look. He decides to give his brother some space to sort out whatever this is and retreats upstairs to wait out the rain. Hopefully Kokichi will have sorted through the problem enough to be ready to talk about it by then.

By the time Kaito heads back downstairs and the rain has finally decided to take mercy on their souls; he finds that his brother has not moved one inch. K1-B0, however, has gotten up at some point and moved to sit cross-legged next to Kokichi. The robot looks over with a solemn expression and shakes his head, confirming Kaito's worries. Clearing his throat he puts some false cheer in his voice.

"The rain's letting up! Hey, Kokichi, let's go do something, yeah?" 

No response. 

"K1-B0, put on a game." He whispers and K1-B0 nods his head before projecting a hologram from his eyes and starting up one of the games stored in his memory. 

As the music from the game begins, Kokichi sighs heavily and rolls over, revealing that he has something clutched in his hands. Kaito recognizes the object as the lock of hair gifted to the human by Amami from that whole tree witch fiasco. He can feel his heart drop as he finally realizes what his brother's sudden change in mood is about. 

In a way, he should have seen this coming. He knew Kokichi was aware that his crush on Prince Amami was hopeless, but he didn't realize how much hurt the boy was holding in. He failed his brother and all he could do now was watch the aftermath.

_"I can't keep pushing this down any deeper."_

Kaito and K1-B0 both simultaneously exchange distressed glances before they refocus on Kokichi.

_"Why do I keep trying if I can't keep him."_ Kokichi threads the green colored gum between his fingers and for once his face is filled with a vulnerable kind of hurt more honest than anything he's said in a long time. _"Every move I make is just another mistake, I wonder what it would take, because it feels like there's a hole inside my body, like there's a hole inside my heart."_

The game character on K1-B0's projected screen dies and the 'game over' flashes brightly before the robot shuts the program down. His eyes return to normal and they focus on the liar who's pouring his heart out to them. 

_"It's like this feeling is gonna consume me, if I keep waiting for this thing to start."_ Kokichi curls up into the fetal position, tucking away the lock of hair in the folds of his white jacket. _"Oh, it feels like I'm all gummed up inside, it's like I'm all gummed up inside,"_ Kaito kneels down next to his brother and reaches out to place a comforting hand at the boy's shoulder, but draws back at the last second. _"It's like I'm all gummed up insi-i-i-i-i-i-ide…"_

Kokichi falls silent yet again and curls even further into himself. K1-B0 looks down at his friend, upset that the boy who's usually so confident and snarky has been reduced to a shell of himself. He looks over at Kaito to see the shifter much in the same state of distress.

"Oh, Kokichi…" Suddenly Kaito's face lights up as a brilliant plan begins to form in his head. "Don't worry, Big Brother Kaito is gonna find you a new love interest!"

Changing his shape back into that of a large wolf, Kaito adjusts his jacket and locates a satchel he fills with various items for his journey. After he is situated, he heads back into the living room to give a small goodbye. 

"Kokichi, I'm going out for a quick…" Kaito sweats trying to come up with a vaguely believable lie for the kid who practically invented lying. "walk in the woods?" He cringes at the fact that even he sounded unsure of what he was doing. Despite this all he got was a small huff, which, honestly was better than nothing. "K1-B0, you look after him with your camera eyes!"

"If anyone tries to hurt Kokichi, I will hurt them severely." The robot nodded gravely.

"Okay, good."

And with that, Kaito makes his way down the ladder. After reaching the bottom he uses his abilities to increase his mobility by lengthening out his legs. 

_Alright! So, I need to find someone Kokichi's age… royalty is where I can start first I guess? Hm, where could I find someone who knows royalty…_

A shrill scream echoes across the landscape.

"Huh?!"

The scream comes again and this time Kaito is able to tell that it's coming from a nearby clearing. Stretching over the trees, Kaito comes face to face with two iron owls who seem to be harassing a sentient wash tub. 

With all the bravado that only Kaito can muster up, he confidently yells: "I'll save you, wash tub princess!" To which the wash tub replies with more screaming. 

The iron owls are easily dispatched. A chomp from razor sharp teeth and a well placed kick leaves the wash tub free from owl assault. Stretching down towards the ground, Kaito moves to go check on the princess he has just saved.

"You're safe now, Miss… FLAMBO?!"

Indeed, the so-called 'wash tub princess' has revealed itself to be none other than Flambo, after the flambit removed the tub from over himself.

"Yeah, it's me." Flambo chuckles. "Bet you thought I was a dame on account of my girlish screamin'."

Kaito frowns and throws the tub off to the side of the clearing. His top three eyes follow the tubs path while the other two are trained on Flambo. "I did think that."

"Haha, well. Thanks anyway, brother."

Kaito's top three eyes widen as a realization hits him. All five of them lock on their target and he leans over to whisper conspiratorially to Flambo. "Hey… You're pretty plugged-in, Flambo. Know any royalty Kokichi's age?"

Flambo blinks twice before his grin becomes mischievous. Kaito almost wants to back out at the look; it reminds him of his brother's looks when he's about to do something that'll end badly (usually for Kaito). It's the thought of his depressed brother that makes him stop though. He hates seeing Kokichi sad. It's not a good look for the kid.

"Oh, yeah. I know just the one… and he's way hot!"

🔥

Flambo leads him to the edge of woods where the grass and springs turn into molten rock and lava. The heat that comes from the land hits the two in waves that warp the light in the surrounding area. Kaito can already feel the sweat that's starting to surface under his fur.

"He's from the Fire Kingdom? I think I'll die if I go in there."

"Heh, oh yeah."

The flambit then turns to Kaito and whispers an incantation under his breath. Firey runes draw themselves out into the air and as Flambo completes the spell the creature spits a wad of fire at Kaito's head.

"Ow!"

"There, I cast flame shield on yous. I also spat on yous."

"Hey…" rubbing the burnt patch of fur that now resided between his ears, Kaito digs through the satchel he brought with him. He pulls out a small device and sets it on the ground. "K1-B0 cam on."

A holographic screen takes form from the device. On it Kokichi is laying on the ground of the living room exactly where Kaito left him. From the angle the screen is at though, K1-B0 must have moved from sitting beside Kokichi to sitting on the couch. He watches as his brother picks apart and sticks the clump of Amami's hair together over and over whilst muttering to himself. Kaito reaches over to the device to turn the volume up.

_"Stupid feelings. Hah. Who needs them anyway, certainly not a supreme leader like me…"_

He watches as Kokichi's face grows dark again as his mumblings get even quieter. Kaito's face scrunches up in poorly veiled sympathy and discomfort. 

"Ugh… hang in there, buddy."

The shifter packs the device away yet again and slings the satchel back over his body. Flambo takes the lead again as the two enter the Fire Kingdom. Kaito is careful to keep his tail away from the pools of lava that litter the land as they traverse through the city and up to the castle. A pack of fire wolves run past them and up the stairs leading to the doors of the throne room. The animals run right past the two fire guards that are stationed at the entrance. Even with the heat protection from flame shield, Kaito can still feel the sweat building under his fur from the imposing figures. With a half-hearted wave from Flambo, the two guards step aside for them, revealing the interior of the throne room.

The castle is carved from a dark igneous rock that absorbs the light and heat around it. Volcanic-like constructs line the sides of the throne room, basking it in a soft red light that contrasts with the blue glow emanating from the center of the room. A balcony-like surface opens out to a lake of lava along with two sets of triangular doors that lead further into the palace. Large connecting staircases wind their way up to the red throne that sits above the rest of the court. Upon the left staircase is a lever mechanism carved of gold and a curved indent in the floor accents the large lamp suspended in the air above the throne room from which the blue glow originates.

It takes Kaito a second before he realizes that the blue flame trapped within the lamp is actually a person. Their form is made of bright blue and white fire. The sash tied around their waist billows upwards, licking at the sides of the glass entrapping them. Within their forehead rests a bright red gem denoting their status as royalty. 

The Prince of the Fire Kingdom does not look up from his downcast gaze. Despite the bright light that he emanates, something in Kaito feels that the Prince's light has been dulled. Kaito scratches at his stomach. 

"Yo! What up? I'm Kaito, Kaito Momo- OOF" Flambo elbows Kaito in the stomach. 

"Dude, you gotta pretend like you're of royal blood!" Flambo whispers. 

"You could have told me that sooner" the shifter grumbles.

"Hahah, yeah."

Flambo leads Kaito closer to where the king is sat on his throne. They stand before the dip in the floor as Kaito clears his throat in preparation for his 'royal voice'.

"Good morrow, Majesty!" He exclaims. "I am Sir Kaito, Baron of the Grasslands!"

The King of the Fire Kingdom sits upon the red throne. His form is made of oranges, reds, and a hint of dark blue at his core. Flames lick at his shoulders and his gaze burns into Kaito. For a moment the shifter worries that the jig is up even before it has already begun, however, it seems that a lifetime with Kokichi means the little liar's skills have rubbed off on him. The King does not pick up on the lie and nods in acknowledgement.

"I see… what is it that you seek? Speak!" The Flame Kings body sparks with his declaration in an intimidating display. It makes Kaito fumble with his words.

"Uhk-uhg... I come as an envoy of Prince Kokichi!"

The Flame King stands from his throne. "A Prince?!"

Kaito can hear the other members of the court mutter under their breath. They eye the self proclaimed Baron and whisper amongst themselves. 

Sweating, Kaito continues: "Yeah and he's the same age as your son!" 

The blue flame, from the lamp that sits above him and Flambo, warbles. Flame King sends his sharp gaze up to the lamp and the flickering light stabilizes. The King looks back down at the two before him.

"Bold words, but know you that my son is a rare jewel. He cannot be wooed by just any ragamuffin prince!"

Without really thinking, Kaito, in a slight panic, says the first rebutled that comes to mind. "Umm.... Oh, Prince Kokichi is AWESOME!" 

_Kokichi's gonna kill me if he ever finds out_ that's _the lie I used._ At the back of his mind, he's vaguely aware that the court is once again muttering amongst themselves. Oddly enough though it seems to be an overall positive response? He's not gonna question it.

"SILENCE!" Flame King's fire sparks dangerously and the court silences immediately. The man begins his descent down the stairs towards where Kaito stands. "We are perplexed. If you are a baron true, where is your gift? 'Tis common practice among visiting dignitaries." 

The court, once again, starts up their muttering. This time though, Kaito is paying enough attention to realize they are also inquiring as to where these 'gifts' are. Flambo pulls at the bottom of one of his jacket sleeves. 

"You're blowin' it, bromite."

Kaito chuckles nervously, "A gift?! Sire, Prince Kokichi sent, uh... three gifts!" He holds up one of his paws and retracts three claws to dignify the number before quickly putting them down again. He hears Flambo's surprised exclaim of 'What?!' before he's realized he has dug himself another grave.

There is a flash of approval within the Flame Kings eyes. "Hmmmm.... Three is more than one."

The blue flame above them shifts, causing the king to glance upward and his features to harden once more. The court devolves into unhelpful whispers… again.

"The first gift is," Kaito hurriedly searches through the satchel wrapped around his frame before pulling out a possibly useful item. "um-um-um this water bottle!" He shakes the thing and by consequence, the bottle slips from his hand and throws its contents all over the Flame King's court jester. "AH-!"

Everyone in the throne room watches as the water splashes onto the jester and effectively puts his fire out into almost nothing. From within the lamp hanging above them, Kaito hears a small gasp of distress before the Prince goes quiet once more. One of the members of the court quickly scoops up the jester and takes him over to the lava pool where they drop him into it.

"Prince Kokichi has smoked my jester! Pourquoi?!" The Flame King rounds on Kaito before his flames still and he takes a pensive stance. "...I do hate my jester." The King mumbles. 

"Uuuh, Prince Kokichi hated him too."

_Now that's a blatant lie, Kokichi loves Jesters! … Flame King doesn't need to know that…_

"Hmm…"

"For your second gift, a, uh... hmmmm oh!" Kaito spots a minstrel strumming a guitar. "A serenade," he goes over and takes the guitar from the musician, he strums a few notes. "that Kokichi wrote; for his highness."

_"Oh, Flame Prince, I think you're rad. I really wanna kiss you, right in front of your Dad!"_ Kaito looked up at the blue glow to see no movement, internally he winced. He hoped the song would help win the Prince's favor. He's pretty sure he already fucked up Kokichi's chances with that water bottle. So caught up within his mind, Kaito did not see the approving smile drop from Flame King's face at that last line. _"Cause I think you're great, I wanna be your mate or maybe go on a date! Cause it feels like there's a fire inside my body,"_

Strumming the instrument, Kaito walks up to the flame lake just as bursts of lava spew from small volcanos like makeshift fireworks. _"Like there's a fire inside my heart, it's like this fire is gonna consume me if I keep waiting for this thing to start."_ The flames turn into runes before dissolving back into the lake. Kaito hops onto a few of the volcanic-like constructs in order to hop up closer to where the Prince is inside the lamp.

_"Oh, I feel like I'm all warmed up inside, I feel all warmed up inside,"_ as he makes his way down the steps again, Kaito can see that the Prince is no longer ignoring the song. The boy's hands are pressed to the glass as yellow eyes follow him down the staircase. A little bit of hope sparks in Kaito from the Prince finally taking interest, maybe he hasn't failed Kokichi just yet?

_"I feel all warmed up insi-i-i-i-i-i-ide~"_

He ends the serenade in front of the King. The blue emanating from the lamp is brighter than before, more lively, Kaito considers this gift a success. 

"A fire inside my body?! I am disgusted! Give me your third terrible gift and be on your way!" The Flame King proclaims. Kaito almost forgot he was there.

Perhaps he shouldn't have been too quick to write the song off as a success. Now sweating once again, Kaito wraps his tail around himself and opens the device connected to K1-B0. 

_"K1-B0 leave me alone!" Kokichi says._

_"But-"_

_"No!"_

_"Hmmm… oh! I know what will help!" The camera blurs for a moment before it refocused back in the living room. K1-B0 now has a bottle of purple liquid in his hands. "PANTA!"_

_It's all the warning Kokichi gets before K1-B0 opens the bottle and proceeds to spray carbonized liquid all over the entire living room as well as Kokichi._ Kaito closes the feed midway through Kokichi's shriek of surprise. 

Flame King raises an unimpressed eyebrow. "Is that him? He looks terrible! Why isn't he here? Why did he send his buffoon?! Leave now, buffoon, for you have failed!" With a dismissive gesture the King waves Kaito away.

"No, wait! Uh-um," he yells after the Flame King. "Prince Kokichi is here!" Internally, Kaito prays that Glob will have mercy on him. He quickly morphs some of his stomach into a crude body double of his brother. He then prays that Kokichi will also have mercy on him. "He's riiight... here!"

"Nishishi, greetings, Flame King! My final gift is your most faaaavorite thing in the world~!" Says the shitty looking Kokichi replica. 

"A koala bear?" Flame King turns to face the 'Prince'.

"Why, of course! What else would it be!" The 'Prince' then produces a box from nowhere and from within it pops out a shitty koala replica.

"Eucalyptus! Eucalyptus!" Kaito had no idea what the fuck koalas sounded like, much less talked like. The shitty Kokichi replica just smiled a shit eating grin similar to what the real one would look like.

The Flame King stared at the koala presented to him and made an informed decision. "I don't like koalas anymore. Begone!"

The King's body burst into pure flame and trailed up the left staircase. Fake Kokichi bites his lip as tears well up in his eyes. 

"Hey, man, don't cry." Kaito says.

"I can't help it! I'm in love with Amami!"

"But he's not interested, besides isn't he a bit too old for you?"

The replica grabs onto Kaito's shoulders and shakes him. "I don't care!"

"Come on, Flame Prince seems into you!" Kaito puts some hope into his voice here, he can't believe he's fighting with himself right now. Honestly the things he does for his brother. 

"NO, NO, NO! ONLY AMAMI!" the fake Kokichi cries childishly. Kaito rubs his 'brother's' back comfortingly only to get bit.

"OW! Kokichi!-" fake Kokichi's face grows blank and he stops crying. In a sudden act of violence, he then begins to strangle his 'baron'. "Koki- Kokichi, stop man…" Kaito makes some 'choking noises' and then finally pretends to be dead. 

_He's definitely gonna kill me if he finds out I pretended he murdered me, the pacifist._

"EXCELLENT!" the Flame King's voice booms from the top of the staircase.

"Huh?" Fake Kokichi turns to look at the stairs. 

The Flame King's grin is sharp and wide. "You have indeed proven yourself! Any prince ruthless enough to kill his own buffoon would make an excellent boyfriend…"

_I did it? OH MY GOD I DID IT! Yes! Kokichi I did it buddy, no longer will you be stuck in a pit of unrequited feelings! Now you will-_

"... for my evil son!"

"WhAAAT?!" Kaito yells, all thoughts of being dead thrown out the window.

"He's an unstoppable force of destruction!" Flame King's hand wraps around the golden mechanism at the top of the staircase and pulls the lever down. "Ahhhh, nothing a psycho like you can't handle. Congratulations!" 

The lamp lowers into the indent carved in the floor, as it clicks in place, a portion of the glass falls away leaving a door for the Prince to step out of. Tentatively, the boy stands from his seated position. His head is tilted downwards but Kaito can see the Prince anxiously looking around the gathered court before looking up at 'Kokichi'. He glows a little brighter and his steps become more confident as he approaches the replica. 

The Prince of the Fire Kingdom smiles shyly at the fake Kokichi. "It's nice to meet you, Prince Kokichi. I'm Prince Saihara." Prince Saihara wobbles on his feet before a small amount of determination sparks in his eyes. He gathers 'Kokichi's' hands in his and looks at him through lashes of fire. "I'm glad you're here." 

Kaito can hear the flame court whisper of 'how sweet that is' and he can't help but agree. "Yeah, he seems normal."

"Yeah, normal. He seems normal." The court chatters and watches the two like they're the only thing in the room. It's then that he feels Prince Saihara's grip tighten on Kokichi's hands. When he looks up at the Prince he notices the sudden wild look in his eyes. 

The Prince's form erupts into an unstable burst of white hot flame as the Prince manically chants 'stop looking at me' under his breath. One of the stray blasts of fire engulfs an unsuspecting court member and the fire citizen bursts into a cluster of baby flambits. Kaito's stomach drops.

"Hey, so that's where I came from!" Flambo exclaims. 

There's a sharp intake of air and Kaito looks up to see Prince Saihara clutching at his chest. He seems to have come out his episode and stabilized himself. Blue flame still scorches the area around his flats. 

"You know, on second thought, ...we're not really each other's types." Fake Kokichi says.

Prince Saihara startles, his eyes shooting open. The pure confusion on his face would have normally given Kaito pause, if it hadn't been for the fact that he was thoroughly terrified. "We're… what?"

"I lied, I don't like you." 

"You… WHAT?!" 

The unstable Prince once again erupted into flames. They were larger and hotter than the ones from the episode he just had a few seconds ago. Flames sparked by anger and heartbreak usually are.

Voice quivering, Kaito couldn't hold on to his brother's voice impression. "Uh, nothing" Fake Kokichi quickly picks up Kaito's 'dead' body and with a "Bye, Flambo." Kaito runs for his life.

Behind him, the Fire Kingdom's palace explodes in a flash of blue flame. Kaito hightails it out of the fire planes and stretches over the forest that Flambo led him through earlier that day. He's panting heavily by the time he makes it within sight of the treehouse. A quick glance behind him shows that Prince Saihara is quickly gaining on him via the power of a million burning suns. Kaito slips inside the treehouse and locks the door.

"KOKICHI, I REALLY MESSED UP!!!"

He stretches his way up the ladder and into the living room. K1-B0 sits on the couch looking alarmed at his entrance while Kokichi is _still_ where he left him. Though he does note that he had to have gotten up at some point because the human is not covered in sticky purple soda. The treehouse suddenly shakes violently and fire begins to spread in the home.

Kaito shifts into his human form and tries to shake some awareness into his brother. "Kokichi, buddy, you gotta help me! I made a huge fucking mistake!" 

"Kaito! What's going on?!" K1-B0 yells, he's standing on the couch now, hitting the spreading fire with cushions. 

"SHIT! FUCK!" Kaito starts his journey to find water so he can put out the fire all the while screaming expletives. It isn't until the fire reaches a photo of the three and Prince Amami that Kokichi actually snaps out of his funk.

Staring at the burning image, Kokichi's face is overcome with anger and he can feel the red hot emotion boil in his gut. "Who lit that fire?! I'll kill you!"

The treehouse shakes again and it sends the three inside tumbling to the floor. When Kokichi looks out the window he sees a creature made of blue and white fire claw its way to the roof. Racing to the window he kicks out the glass and stands on the sill. He grips onto the frame and peers above him just in time to see the creature hover above the rockets that Prince Amami left there that morning.

"Amami's rockets!" His eyes widen as he watches the blue flames creep up on the Prince's projects. In this moment he feels like the hair in his grip has never been as present. "DON'T YOU TOUCH HIS STUFF!!!" He screams.

As if to spite his words, all of the rockets go off. They shoot up into the sky above the flame creature and explode in bright neon colors. It would have been gorgeous if not for the context. Just as quickly as the last time, the rain that followed the display of pyrotechnics had an immediate effect. The liquid began to douse the flames of the beast that encircled their home. Kokichi watched as the creature's mass was reduced and its bright blue flames turned to a red, then orange, and finally a dull shell of the word fire. Its distorted screams cleared as its size shrunk until it took the form of a boy just a bit shorter than Kaito. 

Shock struck Kokichi to his core and all the previous anger he felt evaporated. "It's a boy?"

He watches as the boy loses consciousness and falls off the roof. With one last glance at the gum clutched in his grip, he sticks it to the outside of the treehouse just in time to catch the falling form of the boy. Using their momentum he pulls the passed out boy inside and out of the rain.

He lets out a huff and sits in quiet confusion at the events that just took place. Kokichi looks up at Kaito, who is standing on the other side of the living room with K1-B0 next to him. The robot looks just as confused as Kokichi feels.

Suddenly the boy in his arms stirs and dull yellow meets violet. There's a soft confusion in the other boy's gaze before it sharpens and he pushes himself out of Kokichi's arms. Color starts returning to the boy as his body goes from a dull diluted orange to a firey red with a blue core. The sash around his waist snaps with restrained emotion as hurt dances within the embers. 

"You! What's wrong with me, huh?! You don't like me?!"

Kokichi's just confused as to why someone he has never seen before is trying to burn down his house. He doesn't say that of course. That'd be boring. 

Instead he says: "I like you!" He definitely doesn't sound like it though.

That makes the boy reel back in confusion. A dark blue blush blooms across his face and yellow eyes blink in astonishment. Kokichi watches as anxiety strings the boy's body and he glances around the room before settling on him again. 

"What is wrong with you?!" 

_Ah, I made him mad._

He's enthralled as he watches the boy literally spark and burst into white hot blue flame. It makes the red gems on his body stand out and the temperature in the room spike. When his form settles he opens his eyes to reveal white flickering embers. Kokichi thinks vaguely that he's supposed to be intimated, but it's honestly having the opposite effect. It does, however, make the slap to the face he gets, a surprise.

"Don't ever mess with me again!" 

Kokichi's face stings and his brain must be fried too cause all he can do is stare dumbly up at the fire being in front of him. His confusion just deepens as he notes the hurt in the boy's eyes when he looks at him. _It looks like he's gonna cry…_

And just like that the boy disappears out the window in a trail of fire.

Kokichi looks out the window, tracing the fire with his eyes as far as he can. "Who was that?"

Kaito scuffs his foot and scratches nervously at his neck. Kokichi turns to look at him. Kaito's voice wavers, "The Prince of the Fire Kingdom?"

Kokichi, uncharacteristically quiet, touches a hand to his still stinging cheek before looking down and then back out the window. Kaito and K1-B0 trade looks, but K1-B0 just shrugs helplessly and adjusts his gakuran. The robot throws Kaito a 'this is your mess not mine' look and leaves the room to try and salvage anything that was burnt. 

"What do you know about him, Kaito?"

Kaito's ears perk at his brother's voice and he looks over to see the boy has gotten up and is looking at him with a carefully blank face. It makes the shifter cringe and cross his arms defensively. 

"I was trying to help you get over your Prince Amami sad times by hooking you two up." He confesses, his ears drop in distress and his eyes bounce around the now ruined living room. "But he's evil, man!"

At that, Kokichi's face scrunches up, then becomes exasperated, and finally pouty like a child. He smacks Kaito upside the head.

"OW!"

"Don't be an idiot!"

"Wha- huh? No, man, really! His dad said he was evil!"

"That's a lie, and as you know, I'm the King of Liars. I can spot them with my eyes closed." Kokichi walks over to the window and places a hand on the broken sill. "There's no way someone like that could be evil."

Kaito looks uncertain as he gazes at the chunk of flooring in the treehouse that's now charred from where the Prince was standing. "Uuuh, I don't know…" 

"Help me track him down."

"Huh?!" Kaito's head whips around to look at his clearly _insane_ brother. Kokichi just smiles _that_ smile. You know, the one that spells trouble. 

"I saaiiiddd~ Help me track him down!" 

"Hmm… " 

"C'mon! Your leader demands your services! Help me out!" Kokichi grabs a hold of his brother's face and begins his full proof plan to get Kaito to do something for him. (Aka. annoy him until he cooperates.) "Kaito, Kaito help me out. Help me out. Kaito, Kaito, help me. Kaito, Kaito, help me!!!!"

After sufficiently stretching his brother's face into a lumpy mass, Kaito gives. "Eeeeehhhhh, okay."

"Nishishi!"

The next few minutes are a tangle of limbs and a lot of whining from Kokichi for Kaito to 'move his slow ass faster! What the fuck are you made of, huh?! Slime?!' Despite this the two made it out of the house relatively quickly and, with Kaito back in his wolf form, tracking down their runaway Flame Prince.

"You sure you're not into any other royalty? What about Princess Sayaka? She's small and plump. You could sleep on her like a pillow! Could be nice?" 

Kokichi just looks down at him like he's stupid. 

"Oh wait, right. My bad."

A bird breaks free from a thicket of trees just a few meters ahead. It's on fire.

"Is that bird… smoking?" Kaito questions. 

"Hey, don't you judge me! It was that fire elemental down there that done this to me!" The bird says.

"Let's go." Kokichi selectively ignores the bird.

Kaito shrinks down into the foliage just outside of the clearing. The two take refuge behind the trees and bushes. Just as the bird indicated Prince Saihara sits in the clearing. Before him are a cluster of flowers and the two watch as the Prince touches one. It ignites instantly earning a soft 'oh' from the boy.

They watch as the flames spread to the other flowers until they reach the edge of the pond. The flame is quickly doused by the water it holds and Saihara jolts in surprise. 

"Wow…"

Alarmed, Kaito looks over at his brother to find him leaning forwards. The blue light the Prince gives off reflects in his eyes and Kaito can feel the headache coming on. _Of course he'd find the literal definition of a forest fire interesting. I hate how Flambo knew exactly who to pick to peak my brother's interests but decided not to mention the evil part._

Kaito lightly smacks his brother's arm "Snap out of it! He's burning cute little flowers!" 

Kokichi is not currently present and is definitely not in control of his mouth cause never in a million years did Kaito ever think he'd hear the phrase: 'Yeah, he is like a cute little flower…' come out of his little shit head, emotionally constipated, liar of a brother, and yet here he is.

Saihara shuffles over to the edge of the pond. His reflection looks back at him from the water and he takes a moment to watch that one strand of flame waver in the air above his head before he tentatively sticks his hand in the water. 

"AH!"

Kokichi stumbles out of his hiding place in the bushes at the sight of the Prince getting hurt. "Shit! Are you okay?"

Prince Saihara gasps and turns around. The two stare at each other and Kaito thinks maybe Kokichi's brain finally caught up with his mouth. "I... I was just worried about you." Nevermind. 

Saihara's face contorts in confusion. "Huh?"

Suddenly his brother is ramrod straight in the middle of a clearing and looking panicked out of his mind. 

_Ah,_ Now _his brain caught up._

Kokichi goes through the motions of putting on his mask of confidence again. His shoulders loosen up and he links his hands behind his head in a familiar motion. It brings back some semblance of control as he looks over the Flame Prince's form. 

_Should I lie or…_

"I'm not really sure about what was going on back in the treehouse, but I could tell you were hurt by _something_ I did. And, I don't know.. I don't know anything about you, but I just, I had to see you again." Kokichi looks up at the boy across from him and hands lower to his sides. The truth is lodged in his throat and he hates being honest but he thinks a lie might just make things worse right now. "but I just, I really like you. You know, you're so... be-" his face heats up and what exactly he's saying catches up, unable to go that far he switches one word. It's not a lie, not really. Just, not what he was going to say. "Interesting. You're interesting…"

And just like in the treehouse Kokichi is enthralled by the hue that coats the Prince's cheek and the blue flames that glow just a little brighter in his flustered state. He's almost too stunned to feel the burning hot fire creeping into his personal space! 

"Fuck!" Kokichi stomps out the fire that's begun to surround him. It isn't until he hears a pained cry that he freezes. Looking up, he sees the Prince cowering away from him. Kokichi looks back down at the fire around him before it clicks. "Oh, Glob. Am I hurting you?"

"Yes! That's all you've done!" Prince Saihara's hurt wide eyes sharpen into narrow slits that burn cold rather than hot. "Are you trying to hurt me?! Is that why you're following me?!"

"I'm not following you! Or maybe I am following you, who knows. Wait- no that's not what I meant to say-" 

The Prince makes a distressed noise before fleeing into the treeline.

"Ah! Hey, wait a minute!" The human takes off after the fire elemental. Despite his small stature, the boy is very good when it comes to running and his stamina isn't something to laugh at either. It's with this in mind that when Saihara glances back to see the shorter boy gaining on him, you understand why he proceeds to light a tree on fire.

"Kokichi!" Kaito scoops his brother up before the other can get crushed by said flaming tree. He quickly bats the tree with his fluffy tail, effectively putting out the fire. "Oooww, that fuckin hurts." 

Kaito carries Kokichi to the edge of the clearing and sets his brother down on the grass. There's no sign of the Prince.

"Where are you? I just wanted to talk! Fuck, we lost him!" Kokichi bites at his thumb nail in frustration and Kaito wraps his tail around his brother as a small comfort. 

It is in that moment of reprieve that a trail of fire encircles them. The wall of flame blocks off the entrance to the woods and the fire before them takes on two arks. They meet in the middle and twist together to form the body of the Prince whose hair dances in the flare of his emotions. The rest of the arks break off to form the sash that twists around him defensively. Prince Saihara summons two white fireballs in his hands.

"Whoa…"

"I'm ambushing you!" Saihara lobs a fireball at Kokichi and Kaito. 

"Aahh!" The two scream and dodge the incoming flame. The Prince rotates, preparing to follow up his attack.

"Hey, I like your fireballs!" 

Kaito feels ten years of his lifespan just die as he watches Kokichi's eyes sparkle with childish glee because of a pyromaniac. Prince Saihara, for his part, looks just as lost and confused as to why Kokichi is praising him for _throwing fire at him._

"Huh? Why do you torment me?!"

Kaito sees Kokichi bury his hands in his hair and then watches as the kid's dam bursts open. "Because I like you! Everything about you is interesting! You're an open book emotionally and yet I'm still surprised by the way you act! Listen, when I look at you, my brain goes all stupid. And I just wanna hug you, and sit on the couch and play games with you. I can't explain why, but, I never felt this way before and I wanna find out why…" 

Saihara lowers himself to the ground and his eyes bounce from the fire in the field to the boy with octopus-like hair, the five eyed wolf, and back to the boy again. "I…" he touches a hand gently to the gem on his shirt as his head releases a short burst of flame in embarrassment. 

Kokichi takes a few steps closer to the Prince. It's this movement that snaps Saihara out of the warm feeling that engulfed him and allowed for his anxiety and fear to fill his head with thoughts of betrayal. 

"Rggh! Enough." The Prince's eyes have a hint of wildness to them that Kaito recognizes. It speeds his heart rate and causes him to go on defensive. "You should not toy with the emotions of a fire elemental." 

"Wait wait, I really didn't-"

"You told me you liked me, and you made my flame grow brighter." Saihara pleadingly holds out a flaming ball of fire, it glows brightly in his hand. "But then you put me out," he closes his fist around the ball of light, effectively extinguishing it. "which HURT!" 

Gathering fire into his palms the Prince lets loose a large fireball aimed at Kokichi. Kaito, expecting this, reacted quickly and pulled his brother out of harm's way. 

Prince Saihara glances off to the side, thinking, his hand unconsciously coming to rest at his chin in a gentle hold. "You're trying to impede me. That must be your purpose, ...but fire's purpose is to burn," The flames creating the Prince's body spark in a threatening manner as he summons his powers. "so I'm going to turn this land into my fire kingdom!"

"No!" Kokichi lunges forward only to be caught by his brother as a wall of flame erupts right in front of them. The two back away from its debilitating heat. The Flame Prince disperses into fire once more and flees in a blaze.

"He's headed for Goblin Kingdom! We need to defeat this fiery beast!" Kaito punches both of his paws together in determination. When he looks over, Kokichi is staring pensively after the trail of fire that's heading for the unsuspecting Kingdom. "Kokichi, come on, what's more important? Your love, sorry, _interest_ " Kokichi looks back to give him the stink-eye at that. "in that screwball, or being a hero and savin' the lives of innocent goblin folks?"

The human clicks his tongue, "... Being a hero."

"Alright, c'mon! Let's go build fire-proof suits."

🔥

The two rummage around in the various items that litter the treehouses garage. Kokichi hurriedly picks through things, skimming the top and practically vibrating in place with all the energy stored in his small body.

"Dude, slow down or your fire suit will be junk." Kaito leans over a pile in the corner where there's a bag of moldy bread sitting on top. "Huh. Are bags of old bread fire-proof?" He pushes the item out of the way only for it to reveal N.E.P.T.R. 

"Kaito, you've found Neptr! I am the ultimate hide-and-seek champion! 15 months, 4 days, 9 hours and you guys did not find me! Hahahaha-hahaha."

Kaito nervously sweats and Kokichi picks his way over to the two. He turns to his brother and whispers: "Oh shit, we forgot about the game." Kokichi waves him off and goes to stand in front of the microwave robot. 

"I missed you, creator."

"And we missed you, too, but Neptr, right now we need you to-"

"To count to 100 while you hide? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5-"

"Ah, no." Kokichi says flatly. "Neptr, will you help us build fire-proof suits?"

The little robot raised his two pronged hand. "You cannot tell but I am giving a thumbs up."

With that the group begins to scour the garage for parts to build the suits. Neptr helps the two of them weld and craft parts of the machines together, as well as locate a bubble like foam that would suppress fire. The moon was high in the sky by the time the group was done working. Kokichi itched to leave as soon as possible and Kaito had to remind him to calm down. That they had everything under control. He didn't look convinced, too many possibilities and contingency plans clawing at his brain, but it was enough to get him to sit still for a little longer. When the little robot proclaimed the projects completed, they were already flying high over the sky and towards the Goblin Kingdom. 

"Haha, we are as one, creator!" Neptr says from his spot as Kokichi's helmet. 

"Kaito, do you think Flame Prince is okay?" Kokichi maneuvers his mech out of the way as Kaito rises to fly next to him. 

"DUUUUDE! I feel like I can touch the heavens!" Kaito exclaims, reaching a paw to the sky. Quieter, he says "I wonder what the stars feel like?" 

Kokichi zeros in on the city coming into view over the horizon. "We're coming up on Goblin Kingdom." 

The city is overrun by bright orange flames. The goblin citizens all run around like headless chickens, avoiding fire and other pedestrians by mere inches. In the center of the chaos is a speck of blue, they wander through the streets unbothered by the flames that explode from the houses. 

A fireball falls onto an unsuspecting goblin selling wood. "AAAAHH! Wood for sale! Wood on fire for sale!" He runs and trips, sending his flaming wood flying into the air.

Trapped in his own world, Saihara sends out two streams of fire onto another batch of houses. "It's really starting to come together. Needs more... fire..." 

"Flame Prince!"

Saihara turns to the newcomers in his domain. Two mech suits hover just above the dirt paths of the Kingdom. 

"Listen, you gotta stop burning the Goblin Kingdom, ...but I don't wanna fight you." Kokichi states.

"I've heard this all before." Saihara mumbles before throwing flames at the two suits. When the flames clear, the two mechs are undamaged and Saihara's brow furrows. The suits land in front of the Prince.

Frustrated, Prince Saihara lobs yet another ball of flame at Kokichi's suit but the ball bounces off and is deflected into a passing goblin's cart. 

"My cart. I was born in that cart!"

"Don't worry! I'll put it out!" Kaito says and then in a poor display of the suit he's using, goes crashing through the cart and a building. He did put the fire out though… 

"AH!" Prince Saihara clutches at his side in pain.

"Fuck! Kaito didn't mean that!"

The Prince sends out another stream of fire at a nearby building. 

"Oh…" Kaito removes himself from the building and hovers by the newly lit one. "I need your help, Bro! This one's too big!" He uses the mech suit's leg to kick at the fire.

"AAAH! WHHHHYYYY?!" 

"No, Kaito, stop! You're hurting him!" Kokichi calls back to his brother.

"I will solve this, creator." Neptr says soothingly.

"What?" Kokichi asks the robot on his head.

"I will extinguish him using our suit! Foam blaster." Neptr raises the suit's right arm and retracts the hand into a blaster. "Hold still, burning boy." The suit turns at Neptr's command and aims the blaster at the Prince.

"NO! NEPTR!" Kokichi moves the arm available to him to grab at the blaster.

"Yes, creator."

Just as the suit fires, Kokichi maneuvers the blaster arm away from Prince Saihara. The suit spins and spews the foam at the fire Kaito had kicked earlier. He hears Saihara cry out in pain yet again and wrestles with the robotic arm. "I'm sorry!" 

Neptr moves the arm at his creator's distressed state and Kaito is pushed back into a pole as he takes the brunt of the bubble impact. 

"My bad, Kaito. Neptr, turn it off!"

"That is the last time you hurt me." Cold rage simmers and bursts from the Prince as he ignites into his untamed fire form. Fire from all over the city surges like waves to and from him as his form grows larger. 

Kokichi turns around at the growing blue light and feels his stomach twist at the sight of the Prince. He barely hears Neptr's 'oh my' over the roar of flame as the fire elemental turns and begins to burn the entire city. "NO!"

Embers fall from Saihara's eyes like tears as everything around him burns in an inferno. 

Kokichi rips himself out of his suit, frazzled and run raw of emotion. "FLAME PRINCE!" His knees give out as he crawls his way out onto the top of the mech. "I can't fight him, ...but I can't let him destroy the city... I've failed everyone."

Neptr turns his body to face Kokichi. "Not true, creator. You haven't failed Neptr. Even if everyone burns, you'll still have me, creator." 

Kokichi looks back at Kaito who is testing the limbs of the suit. They aren't working properly. His brother sniffs at the foam around him before licking it.

"Mmm!" Kaito eats some foam… 

Kokichi looks back down at the destroyed remains of his suit. He can feel all the years of pent up frustration and sadness bubble up to the surface. All the pain from his unrequited feelings to the repressed feeling of worthlessness he has because he's _never enough._

"No. Why can't I just like a boy?" 

And Kokichi cries, because everyone has a limit, and no matter how many masks you put on to cover up your feelings, somethings gonna break eventually. 

The purple haired boy hunches over on himself and digs his hands harshly into his sides. Fat tears roll down his cheeks, but he's surprisingly quiet. A single tear rolls off the mech and down to the fire below, causing a sizzle in its wake.

"Ow!" Prince Saihara turns upset, before he realizes the source of the water. "Huh?"

Saihara dives forwards as a stream of fire, circling around behind Kokichi and coming to sit at his side. Kokichi falls over onto his side and there's a soft hitching sound that comes from him as he near silently sobs. He goes quiet after a minute and Saihara reaches a hand forward to touch a falling tear. The Prince retracts his hand quickly as the same sizzle echoes in the space between them. "Oh."

The fire in the city dies out as the Flame Prince comes to understand. Kokichi stirs again with a gasp of air. He cracks his eyes open, dazed, and startles when he sees Saihara, who's stable once again, sitting with him.

Kokichi scrambles to sit up. "Did I... do something... cool while I was knocked out?" He jokes. 

"I understand now. You're a water elemental." 

The boy blinks up at the Prince, processing his words. "What?"

"You're my opposite. You create water." Saihara traces tear tracks down his own face.

Lifting a disbelieving brow, Kokichi attempts to correct him. "What, cry? No, I j-"

Saihara leans in towards him with a determined nod. "Yeah, you cry and cry all the time."

"N-No. I-I don't usually do that."

"That's your power."

"No! Definitely not!" Biting his nail, he mutters "if anything lying is my power…"

Prince Saihara frowns softly, "Even if we like each other, we're going to hurt each other." 

Kokichi's eyes widen and his hands twitch at his sides. "We don't have to… I can take it. I mean, can't we try?"

"You would defy nature for me?" 

A small laugh leaves him and he grins mischievously up at the other. "Well, it would be totally boring if we let something as dumb as nature get in they way, right?"

A light dusting of pink settles on Kokichi's cheeks as he watches the Prince blink surprise away from his expression. A shy smile curves onto Saihara's face as he looks down at the other. The air is hot and the smoke from the burnt buildings makes it hard to breathe, but Kokichi really can't find it in himself to care as Saihara leans closer to him.

As warm arms encircle him he swears he hears the prince mutter 'I suppose so.' Kokichi hugs him back to the best of his ability but soon the pain becomes too much and he has to pull away. "Shit…" the burns on his arms are light, they'll go away on their own with some care but they're there nonetheless. 

Prince Saihara's hair flickers in the light of dawn, as a multitude of emotions play across his face. He settles on a half smile and melancholic eyes. 

"Bye, Kokichi." And with that the Prince departs in a trail of fire.

Kokichi hears Neptr say "Goodbye, your Highness." But it's so muffled Kokichi would have guessed he was underwater if the smell of fire wasn't still in the air.

"KOKICHI!" Kaito stretches up to the top of the mech, his face panicked. "Oh my Glob, man. Everyone's dead, man! They're all burned. There's barbecued bods EVERYWHERE!"

_That_ shakes Kokichi out of his stupor.

"WHAT?!"

"Hahaha, I'm just kidding. I saved 'em. Everyone's fine, see?" Kaito gestures behind him and a group of twenty or so goblins wave at Kokichi. He can see more a bit farther back, they seem fine too. He punches Kaito in the shoulder. 

"Ow. Yeah I deserved that. But, hey! How'd everything go with Prince Saihara?"

"He hugged me… then left."

"Whoa! How did it feel?"

Kokichi turns back to look at the horizon. He traces the line of fire left behind in the other boy's wake. There's a warmth in his heart and if he had been asked to say what it felt like he'd without a doubt say a fire.

"It hurt."

**Author's Note:**

> so, this was fun to write im not gonna lie. tbh, i cant remember why i even decided to make this? i think i was rewatching clips of flame princess and my brain just went: brrrrrrr
> 
> um, idk how well the characterization worked. this is my first time writing these characters and i hope they retained at least SOME of their personality??? Ouma is so hard to write properly. i wanna shoot myself in the foot. anywho- any advice on how to write them better would be appreciated. i am currently working on a large project for DRV3 and i wanna get their characters right. so look forward to that if you like the way i write? (and if you happen to know the other big fic im writing and are waiting on more chapters: I PROMISE ILL WRITE MORE IM SORRY) 
> 
> eerrrrrrr,,,,, OH! duh, i have a tumblr for my ao3 account. so like, i draw. and ill put art for the things i write on it. reference images or whatever i decide to make with my grubby little hands. so yeah... its lait-rose.


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